Review Fix chats with Absinthe Rose’s Kimbo Rose, who discusses the Boston-based Americana group’s fourth album “Black Earth.†Chatting about the band’s creative process, as well as their goals for the future, Rose gives us an inside look at what makes the group- and the album, a unique one.
Review Fix: How did the band get together?
Kimbo Rose: Initially Absinthe Rose was my solo acoustic project I started in Medford Oregon in 2008. I began writing outside of the two bands I was in at the time. I was playing electric guitar and found myself playing my acoustic more and more and developing songs that were more personal and allowed me a broader platform for my political beliefs. The first song I wrote for Absinthe Rose was “Justin’s Song†dedicated to my Brother who was serving time in for a non-violent crime but was serving a mandatory sentence. We wrote this song collectively through the rare phone calls he was issued and letters he sent me. We developed a song about his experience in prison and the way in which it affected him and our family. After I played shows in the area, I knew I wanted to front a band and continue with more acoustic/electric sound. I had my best friends join Absinthe Rose with Washboard, Saw and Violin. We began to play regularly in Southern Oregon before I relocated to Boston. I knew what players I wanted to have in my band before I even moved out East. The members of AR are people I have known and trusted for many years while I developed working relationships booking their shows when they traveled through Oregon. I saw and heard what they were capable of doing. They are exceptional players in the hardcore scene in Boston and now, in the Folk scene and I wanted that sound in Absinthe Rose! So I asked them to join and was not going to take no for an answer! I’m grateful for their input as we move forward on this journey. We create what Absinthe Rose sounds like and the rest his Her story!
Review Fix: How are you guys different?
Rose: I would say that what makes us different is that we don’t care what others think of us. We mix many genres because of our diverse backgrounds. We can play with punk bands and folk bands. Maybe what makes us different is we are just a group of people that wanted to be in a band that gave a shit about the world and all the injustice we see. To take a stand in solidarity against and stand for something. Maybe we are different because we see the world in a different view. We all grew up playing in bands and creating in the DIY punk scene. Traveling the country and making friends and supporting other bands and musicians. We fight alongside performers and artists of all genres that are not ignorant and stand up and speak out against injustice. I think our sound is unique because we do our very best to be real and genuine. I write from experience and my life has been a journey. We are not just one genre and we will never be.You must be present and allow the work you do to just be. Do your best and give gratitude each day. Hopefully someone will listen to one of our songs and it will help them through their day. Maybe we are not that different after all.
Review Fix: What did you learn from your three other previous albums and how did it affect this one?
Rose: As an artist you evolve and grow with each record. Through your work you develop a relationship with your art. What changed for me is that this new record allowed a platform to blend and mix many genres that I appreciate and it is one of our most diverse sounding records so far. Being in a band that does not identify with one single genre helps to allow more space for interpretation. This record is absolutely personal and political. It’s a record of honestly, self-discovery and being at a threshold that you can’t help but push yourself to the brink of your inner workings and see yourself for who you are and who you are meant to be. A voice, for many who can not speak, Eyes for many who can not see their full potential and to be a seed of resistance. Come alive while freeing words into music. I learned to unlearn traditions that don’t serve me. To brace and challenge what my personal songwriting meant and to only say finished when I’m so attached to each line. To listen and truly be present in the sound. We learned to allow the creation process to exist and begin again each song.
Review Fix: What inspires you guys?
Rose: The world can be a challenge, Some days I can’t seem to get myself focused and I get caught up in the ways we treat one another, The mass shootings and mass bullying. As if everyone is out to be meaner, more aggressive and to show others that they are invisible. Guess what. Your not. I see so much injustice in the way we treat animals and our environment. As if mistreating the very things we love has ever worked out? I think it is important to see the world for what it is and start with fresh eyes and keep your voice. Never give into situations you know are wrong, Enemies and people we don’t like tend to be inspirations. I like to be fueled. I like to get right in their faces and make them see me as I continue this journey to heal through music. As artists why else would we put ourselves out and expose our deep convictions if we were not ready to stand behind our lyrics.?
Waking up to the sound of birds in flight. Being able to stand courageously in the shadow of injustice and learning to trust your intuition. Our dear friends are inspirational and the bands that we support have carried a great deal of importance to us. We are inspired by our struggles that unite us. As musicians, As people and as a collective conscious.
Review Fix: What do you think is the standout song on the album? How was it written?
Rose: Two come to mind, “Step Right Up†and “Little Folk Sista.†I had broken my wrist before our first recording session. I had asked the band to create a song in which I could just sing. Josh came to rehearsal with the music for “Step Right Up” and I was instantly overjoyed with what they had created. It was a new sound for us and a new challenge vocally. I couldn’t help but scream when it was done! It’s a great addition to our sound and I love the genre in which it comes from. “Little Folk Sista†means a great deal to me on a personal level. For many years I have cultivated a sisterhood around the US and abroad. With no disrespect to any other gender. This is a personal song of encouragement and my translation of gratitude towards the women I love and that inspire me daily. It is dedicated to my Sista’s that support me through this journey and if you listen closely you can hear Bill’s upright creek like an old wooden ship pulling out from a port.
Review Fix: Bottom line, what makes Black Earth a special album?
Rose: Black Earth is a personal journey into the hearts of people. I began to write for this record after a tour we did eventually reaching my hometown of Medford Oregon. I saw myself in the faces of my friends and old graffiti we laid out when we were kids. Old buildings with their paint chipping and a bar that still had the old juke box we would listen to and PBR for 2$. I reached a place in my heart that tour and was followed by an urgency to stand for more, and remain true to our beliefs. My roots grow deep within this Earth. I saw women and men and others who don’t identify as either gender. I heard them cry and scream. I watched their lives fill up with courage and deflate with disappointments. I too, Know what that is like. I to have hopes and watch them come down like you never had a chance. I’m done watching that in the faces of my friends! We must rise and unite because we are the voices of critical change. We have the power to persuade and I believe in what we do. Follow the path of protecting the environment and making way for younger people to express themselves freely. What makes this record special is that it is unapologetically a piece of me and the way I grew up. In my heart there is a story of a girl who grew up in a small town. Poor and angry about the world. It’s a record about a band that just wants to stand for something and someone.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Rose: I love this question! The best part of it is the question is the uncertainty of the answer! We will continue to promote this new release. We have no plans to slow down or stop! We are playing shows all over the East Coast and Canada. We are preparing for these shows and an upcoming tour in 2016. We will also have a record release show in November in Boston.
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